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Tumbled marble tile provide a rustic and dark appearance wherever they are installed. You will need to apply grout to install the tiles. The process can create uneven edges and pits in the surface. This makes grouting tumbled marble tile more challenging. The following article will review the proper installation process.

What you’ll need
Sponge
Grout float
Water
Sanded grout

Step 1 – Apply the Grout

Use the grout float and apply a small amount of the grout to the end of the tile. Scrape the grout float over the tumbled marble tile.

Step 2 – Direct the Grout

Hold the float at a 45 degree angle and drag the float over the tumbled marble tile. This will push the grout into the joints between the tiles. Do this in several directions, adding more grout as necessary.

Step 3 – Excess Grout

Hold the grout float at a 90 degree angle and then drag it over the tumbled marble tile. Drag it toward the joints. This will pack the grout and remove the excess.

Step 4 – Hazing Grout

Wait for the grout to dry for about 10 minutes. Dampen a sponge and wipe down the tumbled marble tile. This will remove the faint haze that forms after grouting.

Applying premixed grout to vinyl tile is a task which should be carried out with care. This is especially due to the fact that vinyl tiles are shallower than most other tiles, and so the grout needs to be applied more neatly.

Pour the premixed grout you acquired in a bucket. You do not have to add or mix anything, as it is ready to use. Place it at one of the corners of the room so as to start off from there.

Step 2 – Applying the Grout

Scoop some premixed grout onto a grout float. Afterwards, press it into the line between the vinyl tiles, while trying to avoid having grout fall onto the tile’s surface. If you do not have a grout float you may use a putty knife to apply the grout into the grout lines. Press the grout downwards and smoothen it to achieve a neater result. Keep repeating this process until you finish all the floor area.

Step 3 – Removing Excess Grout

The more carefully you applied the grout, the less excess grout you will have to remove. Dip a small sponge in a bucket of warm water and start wiping away any excess grout. Be careful not to wet the grout as it will ruin all your work. While doing so you will be also producing a neater and more linear grout line.

This Limestone tiled floor was installed in a Kitchen at a house near Burton on Trent. You can see from the photographs below that the Limestone had lost its polished appearance and was trapping dirt on the surface including a few stubborn marks; the grout was also looking grubby and dark.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Floor

Restoring the shine on a polished stone such as Limestone, Travertine or Marble requires the surface to be stripped back and then buffed, which we did by using a set of burnishing pads. These diamond encrusted pads come in different grade sand each one does a different job from scrubbing to polishing. I started with the course red pad together with a little water and then carried on with the white, then yellow pads again using a little water removing the soiled water along the way. Finally when I had dried the floor I used a green pad to buff the floor up. This activity took most of the day so left the floor to dry off overnight.

Sealing Limestone Tile

On our return the next day the floor was given a quick wipe with a damp mop to get remove any debris or dust that may have landed on the floor overnight. This soon dried and we were able to apply two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a specially designed stone sealer that brings out the deep colour of the stone. Once this had dried it was given a quick once over with a white buffing pad fitted to a rotary machine on a slow speed, this step ensures any excess sealant is removed off the tiles.

The floor was then left for about one hour to dry before working in Tile Doctor Shine powder with a buffing pad to give a really deep finish. We were still not finished however; the grout was still looking grubby so we agreed with the customer to pop back the next day and apply Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in a Sandstone colour.

When we had finished the customer was very happy with the work we done and even commented that it looked better than when they first had the floor laid. I recommended that for future maintenance and to extend the life of the sealer they should use Tile Doctor neutral cleaner, it’s a PH neutral cleaner and so is safe to use on sealed stone.

A grout float is a tool that is used to apply grout to the tile. It consists of a rectangular and flat metal head with a handle that facilitate the application of a smooth and even coat of grout on the floor. Although the grout float is a simple tool, handling it requires skill, thus here are the steps on how to use the grout float properly.

Step 1 – Mix The Grout

Mix the grout to its proper consistency and put ample amount of grout on the grouting float.

Step 2 – Apply Grout On The Tile

Apply the mixture of grout to the surface of the tile.

Step 3 – Spread The Grout Evenly

Spread the grout on the tile evenly. Make sure that you spread it in a unidirectional manner. Do this procedure until the entire surface and the spaces between the tiles are completely filed with grout.

Step 4 – Remove The Excess Grout From The Tile Surface

Hold the grout float at a 45-angle and drag or scrape it across the surface of the tile.

Step 5 – Clean The Grout Float

Clean the grout float using a squeegee or a wet sponge to prevent the grout from drying completely on the flat metal surface.

A customer recently purchased a property the village of Chesham and hoped we could improve the appearance of her textured marble tiled floors which had over a number of years become dull and lost the polished marble look one would expect from a floor of this quality.

Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing

For polished stone like Marble and Limestone the only way to restore the finish is to burnish the floor and this floor was no different. The burnishing pads are diamond encrusted and come in a setup of four seventeen inch pads for use with a heavy rotary machine, each pad having a different purpose.

So we started with the Red pad which is designed to remove sealers together with a little water, we then took the opportunity to clean up the grout by applying a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and scrubbing it into the grout lines to get them clean. Next step was to remove the soiled cleaning solution and wash the floor down with water before moving onto the white burnishing pad which will grind off ingrained dirt and is the first step in polishing the floor. We then completed the floor polishing using the Yellow then Green polishing pads which smooth down the surface and produce a shiny finish.

Removing an epoxy coating from a garage floor is a labor intensive process. It will involve hours of scrapping the epoxy with a metal or plastic scraper to remove as much of the materials as possible. Once you scrape the floor with the metal or plastic scraper, you will need to apply a solvent, such as lacquer or acetone to remove the remaining coating.

You may need to remove epoxy coating from a garage floor in the case where the epoxy coating was improperly applied or it is old and flaking on its own. This article will discuss the step-by-step process and tool and materials needed to remove epoxy coating from a garage floor.

If you intend to place a new epoxy coat on the same garage floor, remove as much of the old epoxy as you can, understanding that you may not possibly remove all of the material. Enlisting additional help in scraping the floor will help tremendously in removing the epoxy coating from your garage floor.

Purchase the materials needed to remove the epoxy coating from the garage floor. The two essential tools needed for this project are a scraper (metal is preferred over a plastic scraper) and some type of solvent needed to pull up the loosened epoxy on the garage floor.

Step 2: Remove Items from the Garage

Remove all items from the garage and make sure that it is cleared. Sweep the floor up to remove any dirt and debris that has accumulated before you begin.

Step 3: Scrape the Garage Floor

If it is possible, organize a small group of friends to assist you in the process of scraping the floor with the metal scrapers. The more people that you can enlist in this project, the easier it will be to complete. With the friends, get down on your knees and begin scraping the floor. You will find this process slow and tedious, but unfortunately necessary in order to remove the epoxy coating from the garage floor. Work as methodically as you can to remove as much of the epoxy coating possible.

Step 4: Apply Solvent to the Garage Floor

After you finish scraping as much of the floor as you can, you need to pour solvent such as lacquer, paint thinner or acetone to remove additional amounts of epoxy coating. The scraping will allow the solvent to penetrate the epoxy coating and make it easier to continue scraping. With the solvent applied. Go back to scraping the floor to remove the remaining amounts of epoxy coating.

Step 5: Hose the Floor with Water

Use a garden hose when you complete all of the scraping to hose off the floor with water. This will remove the remaining epoxy coating and allow you to work with the concrete to reapply the epoxy coat.

Your garage floor takes a beating, which is why you should look into enhancing it’s overall appearance by looking into a garage floor finish.

Look for Quality Products

When looking into which garage floor finish you want to get, make sure to do your homework, since there are many types of epoxy garage floor paints that come in a variety of colors. Look for one that is quick drying; easy to keep clean; resists water, oil and grease stains, as well as scuffing and scraping; has an ultra tough finish; and contains a slip-resistant additive for a safer finish.

Follow All Instructions

Once you have chosen your garage floor finish, make sure to follow all the instructions that the epoxy paint so that you correctly apply it for maximum results. If you want a professional-looking job, then you must adhere to the proper steps when applying.

Give it Enough Drying Time

Once you have correctly applied your garage floor finish, make sure that you allow it to dry for an adequate amount of time. Touch dry usually takes an hour, while you should reapply an overcoat in six hours of your initial coat. The floor should be ready for use in about 48 hours.